Antibiotics can’t kill the common cold

The Immunization Clinic on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, at the Will County Heath Department in Joliet, Ill.

Antibiotics save lives and are critical tools for treating a number of common and more serious infections.

However, antibiotics are often used when they should not, which can cause them to stop working. Up to 50 percent of all prescribed antibiotics are not needed or are not effective as prescribed.

Each year in the U.S., at least two million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and at least 23,000 die.

“Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Nirav D. Shah, said in a news release. “Antibiotic resistant bacteria are much deadlier and more difficult to treat.

"Taking antibiotics when they are not needed can cause side effects such as rashes, nausea, diarrhea, yeast infections and dizziness. It can also lead to antibiotic resistance, one of the most urgent threats to the public’s health.”

To help stop the misuse of antibiotics, IDPH is leading the statewide Precious Drugs & Scary Bugs Campaign to promote appropriate antibiotic use in doctors’ offices. The IDPH urges people to educate themselves, their families and their communities about antibiotic resistance.

Improving the way health care providers prescribe antibiotics, and how people take them, will help fight antibiotic resistance. Preventing antibiotic resistance will help ensure these lifesaving drugs will continue to work in the future.

Antibiotics are only needed for treating infections caused by bacteria, but even some bacterial infections get better without antibiotics, including many sinus infections and some ear infections.

To prevent antibiotic resistance:

• Ask your doctor for ways to feel better without antibiotics

• Do not ask for antibiotics when your health care provider thinks you do not need them.

• Take the antibiotics exactly as your health care professional tells you.

• Stay up to date on your recommended vaccines to help prevent illness.